Counting devices for use with knitting needles



Dec. 22, 1959 N. T. SANDERS 2,918,035

. COUNTING DEVICES FOR USE WITH KNITTING NEEDLES Filed Jan. 21, 1958 United States 2,918,035 I COUNTING DEVICES FOR usamrn NEEDLES Norman Thomas Sanders, Mappleborough Green,, Studley, England, assignor to Needle Industries Limited,

Birmingham, England, atBritish company I Application January 21, 1958, Serial b,- 710,331 l 3 Claims. (Cl. 116'133) One object of the present invention is to provide a new or improved construction.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a counting device wherein the individually rotatable coaxially assembled sleeve parts of the inner sleeveassembly are located with respect to each other in a simple and elfective manner which allows of said parts of the inner sleeve assembly being rotatable with respect to each other and to the outer sleeve member.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide' a counting device of the abovementioned kind wherein the parts of the inner sleeve assembly are axially located with respect to each other in a simple and effective manner. I

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method of making a counting device of the abovementioned kind, which method is particularly simple to perform and which enables the parts of the inner sleeve assembly to be formed in thermoplastic synthetic resin material.

In accordance with the present invention I provide in a counting'device for use in association with a knitting needle and comprising an outer sleeve having a viewing aperture, and an inner sleeve assembly including relatively rotatable first and second sleeve parts bearing'circumferentially spaced numerals on their outer surface and having respective end caps disposed on respective ends of said outer sleeve and projecting radially outwardly of said outer sleeve; means for retaining said sleeve parts agains t axial withdrawal from said outer sleeve, comprising a tubular portion of thermoplastic synthetic resin connectedat one of its ends with said second sleeve part against axial movement relatively thereto and extending interiorily through said first sleeve part, said'tubular'portion having an integral laterally outwardly extending flange at the other of its ends, said first sleeve part being rotatably retained on said tubular portion between said second sleeve part and said flange.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, showing by way of example a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea;

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein: I

Figure 1 is a view in diametral cross section of one construction of counting device constructed in accordance with the present invention, one of the inner sleeve parts being in the form which it occupies before displacement of material to retain it in assembled relationship p 2,918,035 Fa'tented Dec. 22, 1 959 Z with the other sleevepart and the device being shown in aligned relation with a; tool for use in'efiecting such material displacement. i I v Figure 2 is a further view of the same construction partly in diametral cross section illustrating ,the device after assembly on the tool, the latter having beenbrought into contact with a heating surfacefor heating and displacing the material of one of the sleeve parts, and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a needle-like tool utilised in the manufacture of the counting device in the manner illustrated in Figure 2. The general construction and arrangement of theparts of the counting device, particularly the meansfor retaining-the outer sleeve thereof in any of a .pluralitylof stopping positions and the means for retaining the device inuse on the shank of a knitting needle form the subject of my co-pending US. patent applications Nos. 710,265 and7 10,330, now Patent Nos. 2,887,858 and 2,872,892 respectively to which reference may be had for further details. e For convenience, however, it is herein stated that the device comprises an outersleeve 10 formed of resilient strip material and of tensided regular polygonal form,

of which one side incorporates a gap constituting a viewing aperture. The inner sleeve comprises two main parts 11 and 12 incorporating drum "elements 13 and 14 re-, spectively, marked externally with circumferentially spaced numerals and rotatable relatively to each other and to the outer sleeve 10 so that any paircf numerals, one fromeach drum element, can bejviewed through the aperture of the outer sleeve. 7

The parts 11 and 12 include end cap portions in; corporating annular channels" 15 and 16 infwhich the adjacent end portionis'of the outer sleeve 10 are received, and the outer sidewalls of these channels 15 and'16 are constituted by-rings 17 and 18, each formed integrally Withthe respective end cap portion, andfs u ch rings- 17 and 18 being also of regular ten 'side'd' polygonalfform so as to establish the requisite stopping; positions with respectto the outer sleeve 10, which is maintained 'in' pressure contact with these rings by virtue of its 'ownresilience.

Referring now specifically to the sleeve parts 11 and 12, one of these, namely, the part 11, incorporates a tubular portion '8, which is an integral extension of'its drum element 13, the latter being secured" by adhesive; or in any other suitable manner in an annular groove'19 formed in the end cap portion of the sleeve part 11 out Wardly of a-further portion 20 of the samelinterhaliand external diameter as the portion 8. d

The drum element 14 of the sleeve part 12"is assent bled on the portion 8 so as to be rotatable thereon and said portion 8 'is initially of a sufficient axial length to project beyond the end of the end cap portion of the sleeve part 12, as may be seen in Figure 1. 7 i

The end face of the sleeve part 12 incorporates an annular seating 21, constituted by an abutment face 22, lying in a plane radialito the axiso'f .the bore 23 afiorded by the portions '8 and 20 and a; peripherally extending face'24 coneentric with theportion 8.1 i e i At least the portion 8, "and preferably all th'e 'cornponents hereinbefore referred to, with the exception of the outer sleeve 10, are made of thermoplastic material. The sleeve part 12 is prevented from axial withdrawal from the portion 8 by displacing part of the material of the portion bordering onits end face so as to form a laterally outwardly projecting flange, part of which engages in the annular seating 21.

The sleeve part 12 is located against axial displacement on the portion 8 in an opposite direction by a shoulder afiorded by the sleeve part 11 atthe junction of the portion 8 with the drum element 13.

3 For efiecting displacement of the material as hereinbefore mentioned, it is preferred to employ a tool comprising a mandrel 26 of circular form in cross section and of a diameter which is a close sliding fit within the b'ore'23,"the leading end portion 27 of this mandrel conveniently being tapered to facilitate entry into the bore or, as will be most usual in practice, to facilitate threading of the assembled parts of the counting device over the mandrel. At its lower end the mandrel is connected to a heat transmitting plate 28 so as to be in thermally conductive relationship therewith.

After assembling the counting device on the mandrel 26, as seen particularly in Figure 2, the :plate 28 is heated at its underface, preferably by bringing it into contact with the surface 29 of a hot plate 30 whereby heat is rapidly transmitted through the plate 28 to the end face of the portion 8. Material bordering on this end face thus becomes softened, and simultaneously axial pressure is applied to the counting device in a direction towards the surface 29 so as to cause part of this material to spread laterally outwardly and form an integral flange 31. The extent of the spread is at least partly controlled by the existence of the peripheral face 24 of the seating 21 whilst the mandrel 26 prevents any inward spread so that in the region of the flange 31 the portion 8 is entirely free from any inward projections at all.

The mandrel 26 may be made as a solid rod, for example, from mild steel and the plate 28 may also be made of mild steel formed integrally with the mandrel but said plate is of thin configuration (typically having a thickness of 0.010 inch) so that the thermal capacity of the mandrel is appreciably greater than that of the plate. In this way, during the heating of the plate 28 the mandrel still remains cool and serves to prevent material bordering on the inner circumferential face from becoming heated and softened. ,7

After the flange 31 has been formed, the tool is removed from contact with the surface 29 and the plate 28 is then cooled rapidly by reason of heat flowing from the plate to the mandrel 26. This avoids any excessive delay to allow for cooling of the flange 31 before removal of the counting devicev from the tool and thus appreciably reduces the production time required for each counting device.

Instead of forming the flange 31, the seating 21 may be so shaped as to form a rim or bead of part-circular or other section, or, alternatively, one or more laterally projecting lugs or castellations constituting retaining elements might be formed instead of a continuous flange by initially making the projecting end portion of the portion 8 ofcastellated form.

The means for retainingthe counting device on the shank of a knitting needle when in use comprise .coil

springs such as that seen at 32, extending across the bore 23, the ends of such springs being retained in an annular recess 33 between thev portions 8 and 20, as described in my co-pending U.S. patent applications above referred to.

What I claim then is:

1. In a counting device for use in association with a knitting needle, and comprising an outer sleeve having a viewing aperture, and an inner sleeve assembly including relatively rotatable first and second sleeve parts hearing circumferentially spaced numerals on their outer sur- 4 faces and having respective end caps disposed at respective ends of said outer sleeve and projecting radially outwardly of said outer sleeve; the provision of means for retaining said sleeve parts against axial withdrawal from said Outer sleeve, comprising a tubular portion of thermoplastic synthetic resin connected at one of its ends with said second sleeve part against axial movement relatively thereto and extending interiorily through said first sleeve part, said tubular portion having an integral laterally outwardly extending flange at the other of its ends, said first sleeve part being rotatably retained on said tubular portion between said second sleeve part and said flange.

2. In a counting device for use in association with a knitting needle, and comprising an outer sleeve having a viewing aperture, and an inner sleeve assembly including relatively rotatable first and second sleeve parts bearing circumferentially spaced numerals on their outer surfaces and having respective end caps disposed at respective ends of saidouter sleeve and projecting radially outwardly of said outer sleeve; the provision of means for retaining said sleeve parts against axial withdrawal from said outer sleeve, comprising a tubular portion of thermoplastic synthetic resin connected at one of its ends with said second sleeve partagainst axial movement relatively thereto and extending interiorly through said first sleeve part, said tubular portion having an integral laterally outwardly extending flange at the other of its ends, said first sleeve part being rotatably retained on said tubular portion between said second sleeve partand said flange and having at its end adjacent to said flange an. axially directed abutment face and a radially inwardly directed butment face defining a seating into which said flange extends to engage withsaid abutment faces.

3. In a counting device for use in association with a knitting needle, and comprising an outer sleeve having a viewing aperture, and an inner sleeve assembly including relatively rotatable first and second sleeve parts hearing circumferentially spaced numerals on their outersun faces and having respective end caps disposed at respective ends of said outer sleeve and projecting radially outwardly of said outerv sleeve; the provision of means for retaining said sleeve parts against axial withdrawal from said outer sleeve, comprising a tubular portion of thermoplastic synthetic resin connected at one, of its ends with said second sleeve part against axial moveme'n'trelatively thereto and extending interiorly through said first sleeve part, said second sleeve part having an axially directed end face at its inner end disposed radially outwardly of said tubular portion to form a'shoulder on said tubular portion at its inner end, said tubular portion having an integral laterally outwardly extending flange at the other ofits ends, said first sleeve part being 'i'otatably retained on. said tubular portion between said shoulder and said, flange and having at its end adjacent to said flange an axially directed abutment face, and a radially inwardly directed abutment face defining aseating into which said flage extends to engage with said abutment faces. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,821,953 Langbart Feb; 21, 1953' 

